Vivek comments that the tech industry surely deserves the criticism it receives for thinking small and focusing on silly apps – just look at the industry’s heavy hitters and venture capitalists who provided $1.5 million to seed a useless app such as Yo. But there is hope, he says, with many entrepreneurs doing great things. Vivek believes that “the tide is turning and that in 2015 we will see more and more emphasis on technology that returns us to the moonshot roots of Silicon Valley.”

This is evidenced by Google Ventures, which is focusing more on health care and life-sciences companies, and Y Combinator, the most powerful start-up accelerator in the world, backing seven non-profits in its latest class. Here are seven companies that stand out: